Left 4 Dead

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead	2008
Left 4 Dead 2	2009

Key points

Left 4 Dead 2 includes all Left 4 Dead campaigns, Left 4 Dead 2 will likely be the preferable game to purchase.

Runs on low-end hardware

General information

Official Left 4 Dead Blog

Unofficial Left 4 Dead Wiki

Steam Community Discussions

Steam Users' Forums

Availability

Template:Availability Table

All versions require Steam.

Essential improvements

Launch parameters

To add launch parameters:

Right click Left 4 Dead within Steam and select Properties
Select Set Launch Options
Add your launch parameters and click OK
Close the properties window and launch the game with the specified launch parameters.

Useful launch parameters

Parameter	Description
`-w X -h Y`	Sets screen resolution (or window resolution if using -window). Example: `-w 1920 -h 1080`.
`-refresh X`	Sets your screen refresh-rate (Hz). Example: `-refresh 60`.
`-noborder -window`	Launches the game in a borderless fullscreen window (i.e. very alt-tab friendly). This may result in a minor performance loss. If you experience stuttering, disable Windows Aero.
`-novid`	Skips the Valve logos and cinematic videos
`-autoconfig`	Restores video and performance settings to default for the current hardware detected. Ignores settings inside any .cfg files until this parameter is removed.

Game data

Save game data location

Template:Game data/row Template:Game data/row

System	Location
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/500/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Configuration file(s) location

Template:Game data/row Template:Game data/row

System	Location
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/500/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud		Syncs save games and settings

Video settings

File:Left 4 dead video settings.jpg

General settings.

Template:Video settings

Split-screen without bezels

L4D split-screen mode was meant to be played on a single 16:9 screen only. If you have a different setup then, the image could not entirely fit the monitor(s).

Instructions

Input settings

Template:Input settings

Mouse+Keyboard in split-screen

When you connect only a controller, this is automatically assigned to the first player

Instructions

Audio settings

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Swedish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		8	See LAN play below for more information. "Versus" mode. Up to 4v4 Survivors vs. Infected.
Online play		8	"Versus" mode. Up to 4v4 Survivors vs. Infected.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Dedicated
Self-hosting

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	27014-27050
UDP	4380, 27000-27030

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

LAN play

You can play Left 4 Dead over a local area network (LAN) connection.

Instructions

Local split-screen co-op

A list of useful commands for split-screen is available below

Instructions

Issues fixed

Purple and black broken textures

A generic fix for this issue can be found on our Source engine page.

Other information

Console commands

Games running on the Source engine can utilize Source Engine Console Commands for various tasks.^[1]

Instructions

You can also have the console open by default on launch by following this guide:

Instructions

Useful split-screen commands

Since split-screen mode in Left 4 Dead isn't officially supported, there are multiple important settings which aren't immediately available.

Command	Description
connect_splitscreen localhost 2	Add the second player to the game
map <map-name> gamemode	Play that map in the selected game mode
ss_splitmode [1/2]	Toggle horizontal and vertical screen split
setinfo "Max"	Change player 1 name
name2 "Tony"	Change player 2 name

Launch options

View this Steam Support Article regarding launch options as well as the relevant Valve Developer wiki page for further information and a list of useful Source engine launch options.

Instructions

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP, Vista, 7	7
Processor (CPU)	Pentium 4 3.0 GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo E4600
System memory (RAM)
Hard disk drive (HDD)	7.5 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 6600 ATI Radeon 9600 128 MB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce 7600 ATI Radeon X1600

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.6.4
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM)
Hard disk drive (HDD)	7.5 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT ATI Radeon HD 2400 Intel HD Graphics 3000

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1
Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/500/.
- Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (500) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

References

↑ Left 4 Dead Wikia - Console commands

[Proton_path_note-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/500/.
Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
The app ID (500) may differ in some cases.
Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[2] File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.

[3] Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/500/.

[4] Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.

[5] The app ID (500) may differ in some cases.

[6] Treat backslashes as forward slashes.

[7] See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[2] Left 4 Dead Wikia - Console commands

[Note 1]

[1]

Developers
Cover image missing, please upload it
	Valve Corporation
Engines
	Source
Release dates
Windows	November 17, 2008
macOS (OS X)	October 27, 2010